Generally, this disclosure relates to methods for tracking procedures performed on personal protection equipment (PPE), and, more particularly, to methods for tracking cyclical procedures performed on PPE using smart tags.
Maintaining the safety and health of workers is a major concern across many industries. Various rules and regulations have been developed to aid in addressing this concern, which provide sets of requirements to ensure proper administration of personnel health and safety procedures. To help in maintaining worker safety and health, some individuals may be required to don, wear, carry, or otherwise use PPE, if the individuals enter or remain in work environments that have hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions. Known types of PPE include, without limitation, respiratory protection equipment (RPE), e.g., for normal condition use or emergency response, protective eyewear, such as visors, goggles, filters or shields, protective headwear, such as hard hats, hoods or helmets, hearing protection, protective shoes, protective gloves, other protective clothing, such as coveralls and aprons, protective articles, such as sensors, safety tools, detectors, global positioning devices, mining cap lamps and any other suitable gear.
For example, personnel working in mines, oil refineries, metal grinding facilities, smelting facilities, industrial painting operations or pharmaceutical factories may be required to wear RPE. On the other hand, personnel in the nuclear industry may be required to wear radiation protective clothing and personal dosimetry devices. Law enforcement personnel are sometimes required to wear protective vests and helmets. There are numerous situations in the medical field in which healthcare workers must wear protective gowns, masks, face shields, gloves, etc. Workers in the food service industry are often required to wear hair netting, gloves, masks, etc. There are also many industrial manufacturing scenarios in which personnel are required to wear protective or other specially designed articles in order to ensure a “clean” environment. For example, personnel in the micro-electronics manufacturing industry, biotech industry, laboratory/testing industry, are required to wear PPE not only to ensure their own safety, but to protect the equipment and devices which they assemble or perform various procedures with.
Facilities in which workers wear PPE are often required to keep detailed records regarding the PPE as well as the individuals wearing the PPE. Some such records include information regarding use of PPE, maintenance and condition of PPE, and training of the workers. In addition, records of certain mandatory regulations and compulsory audit histories must be kept. For example, RPE require maintenance to be carried out by properly trained personnel. The making and keeping of extensive records that contain all of the above-referenced information present a substantial administrative task.
Known uses of RFID tags include ensuring that personnel is outfitted with all necessary safety equipment for the performance of particular procedures that could expose them to health hazards. Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) are low-cost “smart” chips or “tags” that can be embedded in or attached to articles, products, and the like, to convey information about the product via information retrieved by a scanner. The smart tags are typically provided in the form of small labels or the like with a miniature embedded antenna. The tags may be passive or active, the active tags requiring an internal power supply. A reader or scanner interrogates the smart tag with an electronic “trigger” signal. The tag in turn generates an electromagnetic pulses response that is readable by the scanner, the response containing the product or equipment information. However, there still is a need for electronic systems that could make the implementation of compliance-monitoring systems easier and more efficient.